Driving notes for provisional

Driving definition- is starting a motor vehicle, moving, controlling, changing gears up and down,
maneuvering, passing different types of road, bends, corners in and out of the premises and
finally stopping the car

Basic vehicle layout outside and reflectors

1. Steering-with a fault steering you’re in danger .without steering you have no control.
Your steering must not have more than 45 degrees of free play
2. Brakes- must be fitted in first class working order if you are to stop before you kill
yourself and others in an emergency
 To reduce speed or stop the car.
 Operated by the right foot, found on the middle.
 Must be done gradually and the brake lights (red lights) will appears when the
brakes are applied.
 skidding and rough braking may cause tyre wear and worn out, can also lead to fuel
excessive fuel consumption
 Found on both manual and automatic cars.
3. Tyres-must be sound and not worn smooth or showing canvas. A blow out at speed has
launched many into eternity. Hard braking ,fast cornering and rapid acceleration plays
havoc with the tyres
4. Hooter-when you need it .it is for the safety of the public but use it when necessary. Can
be used where it is necessary, make sure it is working and must be audible for a distance
of at least 90 meters.
5. Rear view mirror-see that it is clean and properly adjusted
6. Window, window wipers-good visibility is of first importance, everything is clean and
free from oil. Do not obscure your view by putting stickers on the glass
7. Lights-make sure that all your lights including the stop lights are lighting up efficiently
and that lamps, glasses and reflectors are clean. Must be correctly adjusted and your
dipping mechanism functioning properly.
Headlights-make sure it works, dip and flashing lights are working.
8. Indicators- to show your intension and must be done 100 meters before you turn front
must be white or amber, whilst rear indicators must be red or amber. They must be
working properly.
Hazards lights-for precaution to other drivers.
Headrest-to avoid neck injury during accidents.
9. Reflectors-your vehicle must be fitted with efficient reflectors white at the front and red
at the back. Chevron at the back if it is a heavy and buses.
 Sides reflectors are yellow
 Trailers white T at the front and red T at the back on your right.
 Connection of trailers –safety chains must be provided, brake lights must function
properly and trucks must not tow more than 3 trailers
10. Safety belts-make use of any articles that does bear the mark of recognized standard
association belts are compulsory for cars registered on after 1.1.80 and wearing a fitted
belt is compulsory even for older cars.
 Attend to all adjustments before you drive and you must wear them before you
drive.
 Not necessary when reversing/ moving backwards.
11. Acceletor-to increase /decrease speed ,can be found on the right side of the brake pedal
 Can be operated by the right foot and can be found on both automatic and manual
cars.

Internal components of a motor vehicle

 1. The clutch pedal- appears on the left side of the brake pedals .it allows smooth gear
changing and disengaging of gears or it avoids noise when the driver is changing gears. It
can be operated by left foot. It can be found on manual cars not present on automatic
cars
2. Footbrake-is placed between the clutch pedal and the accelerator pedal and it reduces
the speed of the car or bring the car to a stop when it is applied. It is operated by the
right foot
3. The accelerator pedal- is at the right hand side the two pedals. It adds fuel to the engine
when it is applied. can be operated by the right foot only
4. The hand brake –it is used to keep the car stationery when it is parked and can be
operated by the left hand.
5. Gear lever-To select gears and must be always on neural position when the car is
halted /stopped (N).changing gears can be done to increase the speed of the vehicle ,
and can also help to save fuel consumption .Driver must follow gear sequence when
changing gears to avoid fuel consumption and damaging the gear box
6. Reverse gears-the car will move backwards, can be shown by white light at the back of
the car. Only appears when the driver engages to the reverse gear.
7. Dashboard –it shows the warning lights which driver can communicate with the engine
 warning lights-these are warning which appears after the key has turned on e.g.
engine light,oil,battery,hand brake, ABS.

 Life warning lights-fuel gauge, water temperature and speedometer

 Fuel gauge –detects the amount of fuel in the tank.
 Speedometer – measures the speed at your car is traveling.
 Water temperature –it measures the temperature of your engine
Door locks- check the security of all door catches.
Child lock-used when carrying the children and the door is going to open from outside only
Rearview mirrors – internal and external mirror –to see what is behind/ rear of your car
 Must be adjusted before driving
Sun visor- can be used to avoid sun glares
Tyres- well treaded minimum of 1mm tread depth
 Correctly inflated as per manufacturers recommendations
 Must be changed periodically as per manufacturer’s recommendations.
 Hard braking and fast cornering and rapid accelerating damages your tyre
Equipment which must be carried on a vehicles
  Red reflective triangles-placed at a distance of 30 -50 meters from the broken down
vehicle
 Wheel spanner, a jerk, spare wheel, fire extinguisher.
Pre caution must you take for filling motor vehicle with petrol
 Switch off the engine, avoid naked flame near the vehicle, do not use cellular phone
Pre caution for parking
 Switch off the engine, and put on the hand brake/park brake, put gear lever to
neutral position (N)
Procedures for starting a motor vehicles
 Depress the clutch ,check gear lever to neutral position ,turn key on check warning
lights then start the engine
THE STRUCTURE OF ROAD SURFACES
Types of road surfaces
1. Tarred road
2. Dust road
Characteristics of these roads
 It has visible road markings (carriage markings)
 It has broken and unbroken white and yellow lines
 Yellow lines marks the end of the road (verges).
 If the yellow line is broken it means the driver may cross it when overtaking a traffic
in front turning to the right, pulling off the road
 Broken white line-marks the middle of the road
 If it is broken may be crossed for overtaking
 Unbroken white line/lines may not be crossed or straddled
Stop line (transverse lines)-it has regulatory effect, all drivers should obey the lines by stopping
a meter before the line
Zebra varieties -drivers should stop and give right of way to the crossing pedestrians within the
crossing.

Documents required for one to drive a motor vehicles

1. Learner’s license or provisional-a temporary document given to a person who has
passed an examination concerning the rules and the regulations of the road.
 It expires after a period of 1 year and can be issued by VID
  Pass mark is 88% for all other classes except 100% for class 1
 Fully licensed driver should accompanied
 L-plates should be displayed on both sides rear and back.
 The colours of L plate RED L on a WHITE back ground.
2. Certificate of competency driver’s license-issued after one has passed road test.
 Public and delivery ,goods drivers undergo for re-test after every 5 years
 Medical certificate is also compulsory after every 12 months (1 year)
 Defensive certificate is also a must after every 4 years (48 months)
3. Permit –a temporary document given to a person who has trained to operate a certain
machine eg tractor ,forklift grader etc
 Issued by CVR central vehicle registry
NOTES ON DIAGRAMS
 Junction/intersection –this is where roads are meet we have many types of junctions
these are Y-Junction, T junction, cross roads etc.
 Junctions it can be a controlled or uncontrolled junction
a) Controlled junction –the flow movement of traffic can be either being monitored by a
robot, signs like give way or stop signs or a policeman
b) Uncontrolled junction- the flow movement of traffic at that junction will not be
monitored by anything.
c) Oncoming traffic –these are cars which faces each other/ going to the opposite
directions

The five major rules of the road in Zimbabwe

1. All traffic in Zimbabwe keep to the left of the road and give way to traffic coming the
road on your right

Hints- A gives way to B and again B gives way to

C .Therefore car C would go first since it does not have any car/ obstruction on its right .The
arrow on the diagram shows the direction at which that car is going.
2. Never turn right in front of oncoming traffic
 Car B which turning right must stop give right of
way to A which is proceeding straight ahead.
3. Vehicle on the same road moves at the same time provided none of those cars are
turning either to the right or left

car A has B on its right and B has C on its right

therefore car C has the right of way since there is no car on its right .As the car c moves
it is going to obstruct car B therefore car A will take that advantage of car C it will also
moves hence car B will be the last car to leave the intersection
4. At a roundabout give way to traffic which is already circulating

This is a typical round about car B goes first

because it is not being obstructed by any other car in the round about. C goes last
5. A car controlled by a give way or stop sign goes last
 6. In rural areas give way to the traffic which enters the junction before you

Five Class of motor vehicles

Classes Vehicle type Minimum age
1 Buses 25 years and medical certificate
2 Heavy vehicles 18 years and above
3 Motor cycles 16 years and above
4 Small light vehicles 16years and above
5 Farm & constructions vehicles 18 years and above

Class 1 characteristics
 Buses are for carrying passengers
 The most important aspect in a bus is the passengers
 Buses should be always travel with a red reflective triangles ,fire extinguisher in case of
emergency
 The maximum speed limit for a bus is 80km/hr on wide roads and 60km/hr on other
roads
 Buses must stop first before crossing all rail roads
 To obtain a class 1 driver’s license. , you should be a holder of either class4 driver’s
license for at least 5 years or class 2 driver’s license for at least 2 years .
 Driver must have medical test after every twelve months and re-test after every five years

Class 2 characteristics heavy vehicles (Lorries)

 Heavy vehicles are for carrying goods and have net mass of 2300kgs and above (net mass
weight of an unloading vehicle)
 Heavy vehicle should not pull more than three trailers and trailers should be fitted with
safety chains
 The maximum speed limit for heavy vehicles is 80km/hr on wide toads and 60km/hr for
other roads
  Heavy vehicles can be driven by a holder of either class1 or class 2 driver’s license
 To obtain a class 2 driver’s license , you should be 18 years older
 Heavy vehicles must stop at all rail level crossing points
 A red reflective triangles sign must be used when a heavy vehicle has broken down and
must be placed 30m to 50m behind behind the broken down heavy vehicles

Class 3 motor cycles

Types of motor cycles
a. Combination motor cycle-it has a side seat and is allowed to carry one passenger and
goods
b. Solo motor cycle- it is allowed to carry only one passenger on a proper pillion seat with
foot rests
c. Valesolex- this is a very small motorcycle that is not allowed to carry any passengers

Characteristics of a motorcycle
 It carries one passenger only
 Should always take the left side
 Should always put on head lights even during the day and night
 They do not need to carry fire extinguisher and it does not have a reverse gear
 Proper pillow seat and foot rest must be provided if it is allowed to carry a passenger

Pedal cyclist characteristics

 Must ride their bicycles in a single file

 Always seat on the saddle of your cycle

 If you wear a long trousers cycle clips will prevent them from catching on projecting
parts of the machine
 Must not carry any load or passenger greater than 40 kg in their mass
 Cyclist under the age of 16 must not carry passenger
 They must be fitted with a sounding bell
 Cyclist must ride their bicycle in a single file
 They must not weave in and out of traffic
 Keep to the left side of the appropriate lane
 Must not carry any load or passenger greater than 40kg in mass on their cycle
 They must not carry loads that project more than 60cm in front or more than 90cm
 Reflectors must be put on both side rear and front

RULES FOR MOTOR CYCLE

  Must wear protective crash helmet
 At night, always wear reflective clothing for visibility.
 Passenger should be carried only in the side car/astride the proper pillion seat and foot
rest must be provided for the passenger.
 The headlight should be switched on at all the times
 It falls in class 3 of the motor vehicles
 To obtain class 3 driver’s license you should be 16 years and above
The types of motor vehicles
(a)combination of motor cycle –it has a side seat and allowed to carry one passenger and
goods
(b) Solo motorcycle-it is allowed to carry one passenger on a proper pillion seat with foot rests
.it has the engine capacity of 350 cubes centimeter
(c)valesolex –this is a very small motor that is not allowed to carry any passenger

Class 4 light motor vehicles characteristics

 For carrying passengers and goods

 it has net mass which is below 2300kg
 the maximum speed limit for light motor vehicle is 120km/hr on wide roads and
80km/hr on other roads
 it can be driven by a holder of class1,2 or 4 driver’s license

Class 5 construction vehicles characteristics

 are mainly off road vehicles
 maximum speed limit for class five vehicles is 40km/hr on all roads
 it can be driven by a holder of either 1,2,4,5 driver’s license
 a tractor driver’s permit is a temporary document issued upon application by a non-
license person who can drive tractors ,it is issued by (CVR) Central Vehicle Registry
 a holder of a driver’s permit is allowed to drive vehicle normally driven by class five
driver = no
 A tractor driver’s permit is only used when the driver is accompanied by a license= false
 Class five is allowed to drive tractors only=false

Meeting oncoming traffic

 When meeting oncoming traffic always move to the left and reduce speed
 When travelling at 15km/hr leave a gap of one car
 When travelling at 45km/h leave a gap of three cars
 When travelling at 60km/hr leave a gap of four cars
 When travelling at 75km/hr leave a gap of five cars
  When travelling at 90km/hr leave a gap of six cars

Overtaking other vehicle

 We overtake traffic in front of us by the right side .However we overtake on the left side
when overtaking traffic turning to the right in front of us
 We straddle the yellow line when doing so.

Rail road level crossing

 Reduce speed and exercise caution when approaching a rail road level crossing.

Speed limit
 Speed limit are the maximum speeds allowed by law
 A derestriction sign cancels the previously imposed speed limits
 De-restriction sign is an informative sign and it is the only sign that is circular
 The maximum speed limits in Zimbabwe is 80km/hr for heavy vehicles and 120km/hr for
small vehicles
 The maximum speed limits in urban area is 60km/hr for both light and heavy vehicles

Reaction and braking distance

Speed km/hr Reaction distance Breaking distance Overall stopping distance
40 5,6 m 12,4 m 18 m
60 8,3 m 27,7 m 36 m
120 16,7 m 113,3 m 130 m

 Park your vehicle at a distance of 7,5m and above from the corner.
 Always apply hand brake whenever you park your vehicle

Re-fuelling your vehicle

 When you stop to re-fuel your vehicle the following precaution must be taken
 Switch off the engine
 Do not smoke or strike matches
 Avoid naked lights

Night driving
 Always reduce speed when driving at night
 Cast your eyes slightly to the left when meeting oncoming traffic at night when flashing
is happening to you
  Switch on headlights between 5:30 pm to 6:30am
 Dip your headlights when driving in a well-lit street
 Dip your head lights when meeting oncoming vehicles, when driving behind another car
and when there is a policeman directing at night
 When park your vehicle at night by the roadside switch off your headlights and switch on
your park lights

Animal drawn vehicles

 We overtake animal drawn wagon or vehicles by whichever side is safe to do so

The condition of a vehicle

 Steering –a faulty steering has more than 45 degrees of free play
 Hooter – is used for the safety of the public
 Rear view mirror- keep it properly adjusted
 Reflectors –small light vehicles must have white at the front and red at the back
 Reflectors –heavy vehicles must have white at the front yellow on sides and red and
yellow chevron pattern at the back

Hand signal
 We signal to show our intentions
 To slow down-wave your right hand slowly up and down
 To turn left-rotate your right hand arm anti-clockwise

Road signs and signals

 There are five classes of road signs and signals

Class one danger warning signs

 The insignia is the red triangle on top and they carry force of law and must be obeyed
 Danger warning signs have got red triangles except a robot ahead sign

robot ahead
 Insignia of danger warning sign

2. regulatory signs or mandatory signs

 The insignia is a red circle on top and they carry force of law must be obeyed by the
drivers.
 All the sign has a circle insignia except the rail way level crossing

rail road
Circle insignia

3. Informative signs
 The insignia is a rectangle, and they are usually painted in black except lay-by sign which
is painted in blue and the one way which is in blue
 They can be called direction signs

de-restriction sign

4. Traffic lights signal

 The robot has three colours i.e. red, amber, green
 Red means stop
 Amber means prepare to stop
 Green means proceed with caution
 It mainly the structure and the function of a robot
 The working pattern of a robot is RGA and this is known as the sequence of a robot
 Eg what is the sequence of a robot=RED,GREEN,AMBER (RGA)
 What is the sequence of lights shown by a robot=RED,GREEN,AMBER(RGA)
 What is the correct sequence of a robot lights RED,GREEN,AMBER(RGA)
 Please not that 1. Green, Red, Amber
2. Amber, Red, Green are also correct sequence of a robot
 Light
 On a robot there is a green arrow at the bottom which is called a filter arrow and it gives
the right of way to vehicles that are going towards the direction of the arrow.
 There are red flashing lights that signals the existence of danger .They can also be found
on railroad points
 At an amber robot in light sequence you must stop if you have not crossed the stop line
or you shall proceed if you have already done so
 At flashing amber robot (not working) you must give way to traffic from your right
 We go through a red robot when it is in junction with a green arrow pointing to the
direction of my travel

Class 5 (carriage way markings)

 These are traffic signs found on tarred road surfaces. These lines may be broken lines or
unbroken white and yellow lines
 Verge –that is the edge of the tarred surfaces
 Longitudinal lines-are lines that are used to demarcate traffic lanes in the road it can be
broken or unbroken lines
 Broken white lines—lines may be crossed to overtake
 Unbroken white lines—must not be crossed to overtake
 They carry force of law and have a regulatory effect on the road
 Transverse line—these are also called stop lines or prohibitory lines and they are found
on the road intersection
 Broken yellow lines-these are the lines that marks the edge of the road and drivers are
allowed to straddle or drive over the lines only when passing or overtaking vehicle
turning to the right
 Zebra variety is the pedestrian crossing place found away from an intersection and it has
black and white strips
 In a two way lane traffic going straight ahead take the left lane
 In a three way lane traffic going straight ahead take the Centre lane
 Traffic turning to the right take the right lane
 Traffic turning to the left takes the left lane

Summary of the topic

Diagram hints and tips
 When we are dealing with diagrams we use ANTI-CLOCK WISE METHODES
 Any vehicle facing a stop or a give way sign will be the last car to move
 Any vehicle at a junction gives right of way to cars on its right
 At roundabout always give right of way to traffic already circulating in the round about
 Never turn right in front of oncoming traffic
 When entering a major road from a minor road give way to all crossing traffic
  Cars in the same road goes at the same time provided there is on who has nothing on its
right

Hand signals when driving

1. Slow down –stretch your right arm moving the palm up and down
2. Going to stop- raise or hold the right arm vertically from the elbow with the palm of the
hand facing the front
3. Turning of the right- stretch the right arm horizontally and move it backwards and front
4. Allowing another vehicle to overtake –stretch your right arm slightly lower from the
shoulder and move backwards and forwards
5. Turning left –stretch the right arm horizontally and rotate it anti-clockwise and raise the
palm of the hand facing front
General points to be noted
1. Animal drawn vehicles should be treated special and can be overtaken from
whichever side safe to do so and driver should stop if it is coming from opposite
direction
2. Drivers are prohibited to park their vehicles less than 7, 5 from the corner or
intersection of the road
3. Drivers are required to switch on their tail lights and side lights whenever they park
their vehicles by the road side at night
4. Drivers are required to place a red reflective triangle 30-50m behind a broken down
vehicles
5. Drivers are required to switch on the hazards lights to warn other road users of a
danger ahead
6. Drivers are required to switch on their fog lights when there is a heavy mist
7 motor cyclist are always required to switch on their headlights at any given time even
during the day.
8. Drivers are required to switch on their headlights between 5:30 pm to 6:30 am
9. Drivers are required to dip their headlights whenever they meet other vehicles at
night or travelling behind other vehicles and also stop in a properly lit street
10. Driver are required to cast their eyes slightly to the left if oncoming vehicles does
not dip the headlights
11. Before reversing the vehicles from a parking place drivers should check around and
underneath the vehicles
12. The maximum speed limits for heavy vehicles 80km/h on wide road and 60km/h on
other roads
13. Heavy vehicles are not allowed to pull more than three trailers and trailers should be
fitted with safety chains
14. You drive without safety belt when reversing only
15. A blind spot is a portion not seen by the view mirrors.
16. What is hazardous perception this is anticipation of what is in front
17. Weight is usually associated with a weigh bridges
18. On a bridge one should not overtake slow moving traffic
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